"Upon the Double Murder of King Charles In Answer to a Libelous Rhyme made by V.P." is a 17th-century poem by

Katherine Philips Katherine or Catherine Philips (1 January 1631/2 – 22 June 1664), also known as "The Matchless Orinda", was an Anglo-Welsh royalist poet, translator, and woman of letters. She achieved renown as a translator of Pierre Corneille's '' Pompée'' ...

Historical occasion for the poem

This piece was written by

reportedly in response to "a Libelous Rhyme made by V.P." The "V.P." in question is

Vavasor Powell Vavasor (or Vavasour) Powell (161727 October 1670) was a Welsh Nonconformist Puritan preacher, evangelist, church leader and writer, who was imprisoned for his role in a plot to depose King Charles II. Early life Powell was born in Knuck ...

(1617–70), a Noncomformist preacher, member of the Fifth Monarchists, and a writer. The "rhyme" alluded to by Philips is his poem "Of The Late K. Charles of Blessed Memory". The historical moment which spurred the creation of this piece was the regicide of

King Charles I of England Charles I (19 November 1600 – 30 January 1649) was King of England, Scotland, and Ireland from 27 March 1625 until his execution in 1649. He was born into the House of Stuart as the second son of King James VI of Scotland, but after hi ...

in 1649 and the reaction of the populace to his death, specifically the disrespect offered his body and memory by the Parliamentarians.

Katherine Philips' political situation

is often associated with a class of poets termed

Royalist A royalist supports a particular monarch as head of state for a particular kingdom, or of a particular dynastic claim. In the abstract, this position is royalism. It is distinct from monarchism, which advocates a monarchical system of governme ...

Cavalier The term Cavalier () was first used by Roundheads as a term of abuse for the wealthier royalist supporters of King Charles I and his son Charles II of England during the English Civil War, the Interregnum, and the Restoration (1642 – ). It ...

denoting their political sympathy to the Royalist cause, those who supported the monarchy of

during the

English Civil War The English Civil War (1642–1651) was a series of civil wars and political machinations between Parliamentarians (" Roundheads") and Royalists led by Charles I ("Cavaliers"), mainly over the manner of England's governance and issues of re ...

and the following

English Interregnum The Interregnum was the period between the execution of Charles I on 30 January 1649 and the arrival of his son Charles II in London on 29 May 1660 which marked the start of the Restoration. During the Interregnum, England was under various forms ...

. However, while Philips is often classified among these writers, throughout the

and the

she generally kept a relatively neutral political tone in her writings. This is a result of her close relationships with both Royalists and Parliamentarians. On one hand, she was very close to her "Society of Friendship," a very tight knit group of Philips' friends which was composed of almost exclusively Royalist writers. However, her husband James Philips, was a prominent Parliamentarian. Following the Restoration in 1660, Philips turned more towards Royalist writing in hopes of improving her husband's political status. "Upon the Double Murder of King Charles" is a more politically minded piece than many of her others from this time period; however, her political ambivalence is manifest in it still in her opening lines which explain that, "I think not on the state, nor am concerned/Which way soever that great helm is turned," and again later when she criticizes not only the Parliamentarians, or "ignoble enemies," but also the Royalists, King Charles's "unfaithful friends." When it became apparent the poem may be published, and so embarrass her husband James Philips, Philips was forced to apologise. She did so in the form of another poem but whilst distancing herself from the views of her husband she reinforced her criticism of Powell.

Significance

This poem is significant in that through it Philips is entering the realm of

British politics The United Kingdom is a unitary state with devolution that is governed within the framework of a parliamentary democracy under a constitutional monarchy in which the monarch, currently Charles III, King of the United Kingdom, is the head ...

. She was one of the first women to do so through literature. In line 6 she speaks of breaking nature's laws, which is referring to her breaking the norms of woman's silence in things political. She suggests that the Parliamentarian's rejection and overthrow of Charles I is enough to justify her in breaching "nature's laws." In line 17 she says that the heathen would sorrow at the fall of Charles I. She is implying that the heathen is more Christian than the Puritan Parliamentarian, for the Parliamentarians showed no such sorrow or remorse, but rather slandered and libeled the fallen king.Summers, Claude J. and Pebworth, Ted-Larry. ''The English Civil Wars in the Literary Imagination.'' University of Missouri Press (July 1999). 181.

References

{{Reflist 17th-century poems Cultural depictions of Charles I of England Works about murder